Hi {!firstname_fix}

Well, cravings seem to be the name of the game around the community so.... , I thought you would enjoy some reflections on that. And please check out the book special we are doing in David's column.

Please feel free to pass this week's newsletter on to your friends and family. Don't forget to let me know what you like and would like to see.

A copy of this newsletter may also be found posted on the web at http://www. radiantrecovery.com/weeklynewsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, use the link at the bottom of the page. Do not email me, do not get mad at me, just click on the link and you will be forever removed.

And be sure to visit our Radiant RecoveryŽ website and Community Forum regularly.

Warmly,
Kathleen

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November 1, 2004
** Quote From Kathleen **

Follow your shadow and you will be healed.

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** Testimonial for the Week**

That's funny (in the strange way, not the haha way) I felt RR would make me less free when I first started. That was a big part of my resistance. But guess what? I *gained* freedom instead.

No more fighting the urge to binge or giving in and feeling awful. No more hating myself for being fat or crabby. No more hiding half a sheet cake in my closet and *having* to pick at it all day or buying something at the store and scarfing it down in the back of the parking lot - praying no one would drive by and see me.

No more ordering two sodas at McDonalds and throwing one away so the person waiting on me wouldn't know it was all for me. No more going out with friends or to a gathering and concentrating on the sweets instead of enjoying the fun. No more depression. No more mood swings.

No more feeling as if something is missing - and never finding out what it is. No more hating myself.

Breakfast is the first step to that freedom. And we can move slowly so we don't have to be afraid of what lies ahead.

Carrie

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**Recipe of the Week**

I am including this early enough so you can test it before Thanksgiving.

Okay, here is the long awaited pecan pie recipe. Although it did not trigger me, I do not know how your body will react. If you let the leftover pie get moldy like I did, you will probably be okay (grin). I also think the filling would be good made as a custard without the crust.

Pie Dough: Combine flour and salt in a mixer bowl. Cut margarine into flour with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until the mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, mix the cold apple juice and the water together. Stirring with a fork, gradually adding the cold apple juice/water mixture just until the dough is moistened and holds together when pinched between your fingers. You may not need all of the cold apple juice/water mixture. Gather up the dough and cover. Refrigerate for at least one hour or up to 24 hours. Roll out the dough into a large circle about 1/8 inch thick. Place into 9 inch pie plate.

Filling: In a food processor, blend the pecans and flour until finely ground. In a separate bowl, mix the softened butter, apple juice and extract. Beat in the eggs, mix well. Then beat in the pecan/flour mixture. Pour into pie dough and bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes, until filling is golden brown. You may have to shield the crust to avoid it burning.

Naomi

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**Your Last Diet: More Than What You Think**

We are having fun tweaking our weight loss plans these days. Some of the advanced material spooked our members (smile) and they said, *Hey, I am not ready to lose weight yet*. Now what program have you ever heard that in, LOL. It's a gem. I LOVE Your Last Diet.

I hope all of you who are YLD members are reading the transcripts. We had so much fun in the last chat talking about how Step 7 is in all the other steps. I came away from chat just feeling so filled up. it's funny that this program started off as a weight loss thing and it is so much more now. How nice!

http://www.radiantrecovery.com/YLD_signup.htm

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**Radiant Ambassadors**

My chiropractor called today and asked for the names of the books. She's willing to look at her sugar sensitivity.

HURRAY!!!

Elizabeth

If you love the program, consider joining the ambassador group. We are having a blast!

Come find us among the Online Groups

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**David's Corner **



We have a couple of fun things to report this week. Kathleen is so committed to supporting you in getting the word out about Little Sugar Addicts, she has asked me to cut the price of the book to what we pay for it. So if you want to buy them and give them away, you can get them at an amazing price - to teachers, doctors, your sister in law, your parents, your head start teacher, your daughter, your school principal, the editor of your newspaper, the head of your Sunday School, your friend who teaches at the University, your brother who is the head of an HMO. Send them a book. Iit is a sorry worth telling.

And of course we KNOW that the Red Sox won, so this Boston Born boy is mighty happy this week! Kathleen often laughs at how much I love rankings. I thought you would like to know our best sellers. In rank order, from out new product list:
  1. Flavorings for the shake (Maple is tops...use on pancakes in butter)
  2. Water mugs (Ze BIG ones!)
  3. Cheese snacks (School snacks)
  4. Cod liver oil (Put it in shake, YUM!)
  5. Wild Rice (Can't say enough good about this one!)
  6. CM Joint Response ( we started with your dog and you liked it so much.....)
Please send questions and suggestions for items you might like to see in our store. YOU are building our store. Tell me what you want and we will sort it out.

Thanks
David

And of course, we have something for everybody in our store


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**Featured Topic**
So What About Cravings
by Kathleen DesMaisons

 I have been reading a lot of posts on the issue of what to do with cravings and I thought It might help to say a little more....

Cravings come from beta endorphin withdrawal. If you had something sweet, when it wears off, you will crave. If you have a big event that spikes beta endorphin (a fight, a joy, a lot of sex, dancing all night, getting a job, not getting a job), when it wears off you will have cravings.

Sometimes the *wearing off* effect takes 4 days, so you do make a connection between let down and craving.

So the key question, is what to do when you have them ....

First all, entertain the idea that it is possible to have a craving and not *do* anything.

Now when you are just starting out, this is hard. Not doing anything is called impulse control. If you have low serotonin, you may not have much impulse control, so you get a craving and you do something right away. One strategy is to simply work the steps and allow your biochemistry to heal and imporve your impulse control. Another strategy is to start right away and learn to recognize this phenomenon and simply practice waiting. Cravings by nature are simply your brain calling. If you start to get antsy and scared, they call more. If you do something else, you can overide the call.

So, bottom line, sort out ways to reduce the BE priming - this means having your sweets with meals or always with protein. This cuts down the *hit* effect.

Use your journal to mark when to expect the whispers or yelling to come...Mark 4 days down the road when you have a BE spike. Being prepared for the edginess helps.

Do the food. When you get to step 7, cravings go a way.

Kathleen
Ok this is great Kathleen. I got it till I got to the last sentence:

"Do the food. When you get to step 7, cravings go a way"

Could you or someone else elaborate on this a little. I thought you said cravings are caused not only by food, but by life also. Actually you wrote that cravings are due to BE-withdrawal, so are you saying that once we're on step 7 we learn to avoid BE spikes hence no cravings? Or we manage the withdrawal better? What I'm noticing is I'm trying to avoid spiking because I'm noticing the effects it has on my body, but sometimes it's impossible to avoid spikes. I see them too late and that's when I get cravings. I'm sorry I'm a bit puzzled with what comes after step 7. It sounds like the step 7 is somehow magical and all the bad things go away and I feel disappointed because it's not the case in my life. What I do see is that I start to manage things better, I have a better control over things, I have choices, but the things I've struggled with, I still have them in my life. I just manage them better.

Anyway, I just got a little confused by the last sentence.

Thank you for this clarification .

Sure :-) As your brain heals, the beta endorphin receptors don't scream so much. If *life* creates a spike, you have skills to not react in the same way. So it is a blip not a flood. The more you heal, the more you up the normal level of beta endorphin. Let me see if I can describe this...

When you start, you have low level BE. Imagine it at a 2 out of 10. Something happens that spikes it to an 8. So when it drops, you have a 6 point gap with big screaming and big fallout craving. Over time, you heal. Now your normal BE runs ar 7. Something spikes it to an 8. It drops back to a 7. The BE receptors say, Um, did you notice that and you laugh with them.

Make sense?

Kathleen

ŠKathleen DesMaisons 2004.